Estate
| Estate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Info | |
| Cost |
 |
| Type(s) | Victory |
| Kingdom card? | No |
| Set |
Base |
| Illustrator(s) | Martin Hoffmann |
| Card text | |
1  | |
Estate is a basic Victory card included in all games of Dominion. At , Estate is the cheapest Victory card in the Supply and (at 1 
) is almost always the one worth the least number of victory points.
In most games, each player starts the game with three Estates. In games using Kingdom cards from Dark Ages, these starting Estates may be replaced with Shelters. Like other Victory cards, the Estate pile begins the game with 8 Estates in a 2-player game, and 12 Estates in larger games, regardless of how many Estates are in players' starting decks.
In a typical game, Estate is a bad card, and it is usually desirable to trash your starting Estates as soon as possible.
Contents |
Strategy
Your three starting Estates are the worst cards in your deck, since they are junk stop cards that only hinder any hand in which they appear, and your aim is to build a deck in which the 1 that each provides will be dwarfed by better sources of . Therefore, getting rid of them quickly, e.g. by using Chapel, is a high priority at the start of the game. It can be a nice bonus to get some benefit from doing so, such as Remodelling them into Action cards costing 
or less, but it’s rarely worth delaying trashing to take advantage of this. Trashing Estates tends to be a higher priority than trashing Coppers, because hands that contain more Coppers can afford more expensive cards early in the game, allowing you to improve your deck more quickly. If you can’t trash your Estates (or otherwise ensure they won’t appear in your hand, such as by Exiling them), you should consider how this affects your strategy: your engine will need more draw than it otherwise would, and sifters could be more important than usual.
There are a few situations where the decision to trash all of your Estates early in the game is less clear. A number of cards and landscapes synergise with them: for instance, Baron needs an Estate to discard; Shepherd relies on the presence of plenty of green cards in the deck; and Inheritance allows you to turn your Estates into Action cards that do something useful. Additionally, in a single-gain kingdom, it could occasionally be worth considering whether you want to keep an Estate to act as a tie-breaker. Finally, in strategies where strong deck control is not a goal (e.g. rushes or money), it might not pay off to spend precious turns on measures like buying cards that will enable you to trash your Estates.
As the least valuable Victory cards, Estates typically don’t play a role in scoring until the game is almost over. Gaining Estates in the mid-game is most likely to happen as a side-effect, e.g. of denying your opponents the Wild Hunt points or attacking them using Followers. In the end-game, however, they may become relevant for the 1 that each offers at a low price. This is especially true in rush scenarios (notably with Groom), where they are often emptied as a third pile to end the game, but similar endings can occur whenever +Buys are plentiful, such as with Grand Market. Alternatively, if all the players are building powerful engines aiming to be the first with the ability to empty three non-Victory card piles, a single Estate gained during that final turn might be all the you need to win. Gaining Estates is also somewhat likely in a Duchy dancing scenario, or when more valuable Victory cards have run out already; in a sloggy end-game with a deteriorating deck, they’re sometimes the best you can afford. Even outside these scenarios, the best end-game use for certain gainers such as Workshop may be to acquire an Estate for that extra 1 .
Notable synergies
Cards that interact with Estate
Estate gainers
- Baron
- Followers
- Hunting Grounds - Trashing a Hunting Grounds allows you the option of gaining 3 Estates.
- Sprawling Castle - Can gain 3 Estates when gained.
- Wild Hunt - You may gain an Estate to take Wild Hunt's gathered .
- Triumph and Alliance
- Distant Shore
- A similar effect is Way of the Worm although Exiling is not technically gaining.
Other Interactions
- Baron - Baron allows you the option to discard an Estate from your hand. If you do, you get +. If not, you gain an Estate.
- Inheritance - turns Estates into Action - Command - Victory cards that can play a non-Command card from the supply.
- Pasture - Worth 1 per Estate you have.
- Locusts - Makes you gain a Curse if it trashes an Estate.
Versions
English versions
| Digital | Text | Release | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1 |
Dominion 1st Edition | October 2008 | |
 |
never implemented | 1 |
Base Cards 1st Edition | June 2012 |
| |
 |
1  |
Dominion 2nd Edition | October 2016 |
 } |
never implemented | 1 |
Base Cards 2nd Edition | June 2018 |
Other language versions
| Language | Name | Digital | Text | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | 莊園 (pron. zhuāngyuán, lit. manor) | ||||
| Czech | Statek | ||||
| Dutch | Landgoed | ||||
| Finnish | Tila (lit. domain) | ||||
| French | Domaine (lit. domain) | ||||
| German | Anwesen |  |
1 |
(2008) | |
| Anwesen |  |
 |
1 |
(2019) | |
| Greek | Κτήμα (pron. ktema) | ||||
| Hungarian | Birtok | ||||
| Italian | Tenuta | ||||
| Japanese | 屋敷 (pron. yashiki) | ||||
| Korean | 사유지 (pron. sayuji) | ||||
| Norwegian | Herregård (lit. mansion) | ||||
| Polish | Posiadłość | ||||
| Romanian | Moşie | ||||
| Russian | Поместье (pron. pomyest'ye) | ||||
| Spanish | Finca |
Trivia
Secret History
Names of the basic Victory cards
cards I named them after tracts of lands though. Sir Bailey had the second copy of the game. He renamed the VP cards to parts of a castle, to fit the name.
